Trying to Survive the Nightmare of Donald Trump

There are some things that shouldn’t need to be said. That’s because most of us learn at a very early age that it is not OK to assault someone who annoys us. We even have laws against that kind of thing. And yet on Thursday night, the President of the United States praised someone who had broken those laws, saying, “He’s my kind of guy.”

President Trump praising Rep. Greg Gianforte for body slamming a reporter, a crime for which Gianforte pleaded guilty to misdemeanor assault. pic.twitter.com/DS1z3YBE0C

The disturbing part of Trump’s jokes about Gianforte was the effect on the crowd. I saw one young man in the crowd making body slam gestures. He looked at me and ran his thumb across his throat. I talked to him after the rally was over. He couldn’t stop laughing.

That kind of thing leaves me speechless, much like I was when Trump mocked the victim of sexual assault and the crowd ate it up. Are we really at the point where we have to stand up and denounce things that are so obviously wrong?

Of course, all of this is happening at the same time that Trump accuses his opponents of being a dangerous mob that is prone to violence. Perhaps I’m too wedded to common sense, but that is enough to boggle a sane mind. It all leaves me wondering what the hell has happened to this country!

The truth is that we’ve been putting up with this kind of nonsense for almost two years now and it’s enough to challenge anyone’s sanity—while the real culprit who is obviously mentally unstable continues to occupy the White House. I still want to pinch myself in an attempt to wake up from this nightmare. Unfortunately it’s all happening in real life.

Thanks, Andrew; that ought to keep me going for at least the next couple of weeks.

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